Queens Public Library at Jackson Heights - Jackson Heights, New York

gladys H.

Always stares when I come in and doesn’t even say hi or good morning very rude customer service other than that it’s fine

Rajiv M.

This is a very petite library in an urban area. One of the smallest in the QBL network. But great place to pick up books and order some printouts.

Boris P.

Small library with selection of books. Went to get my card today but their system is down and only if have ID with proof residence then I can download the app and checkout books that way. Was allowed back to see if book I needed was there but no, not there.

Farhan A.

This is a small library and by small i mean only in terms of the places you can sit and read or study. The facilities are really nice . The staff was very polite and courteous. I just started going there to study, but my first day i saw a fight break out between a guy and a woman. It was very annoying and irritating to see that people come here to talk as if this is a public park. I feel the staff can be strict in terms of telling people to be quiet and discreet.
Will see how it goes.

June D.

Wonderful staff always warm, friendly & professional. I have been using this branch my whole life. It's clean and there is plenty of space to read and relax. This was my go-to place during COVID. Keep up the great work. Thank you.

Kit

It makes me sad to leave a two-star review for a library because I think all libraries should be five-star libraries. They are so important for the health of the community.

Right away I got a officious vibe from the librarian as I applied for my card. Just rules, no orientation or anything. I then came in the next day to work on my computer, but my battery was low, so I needed to plug in. There was no place to plug in on many of the tables, and it was pretty crowded, but I did find a wall plug four feet away from one of the tables, so I plugged in there. Another librarian came by and told me that I could not plug in there because of a tripping hazard. My laptop has a very long cord, and I had been careful to lay it out so no one would even brush it, and it was a low-traffic area, but he said, that's the rule.

He said that they'd been requesting an installation of electricity on the tables for a long time but no one had. It seemed to me though that a surge strip with an eight foot cord and one of those rubber no-trip cord covers would be an easy fix for this mostly imagined problem, and that would give everyone at the table enough electricity for their laptops, but I digress.

I went looking for another place to sit. There were computers along the front window, and the row was mostly full of desktop computers, but I noticed a gap where there was room but no computer, so I set up there. I grabbed a chair from down the row, plugged in, and started to work. Another librarian came by and gave me the evil eye, I think because I'd moved a chair. She told me that there wasn't a space there, but there clearly was, so I pointed that out to her, and she left.

The next day I came back, and instead of finding an extra chair in that spot, I saw that someone had spread out the computers more so that there was no longer an extra spot where I had been sitting. Huge eye-roll.

I signed up for a computer and was assigned one in the back room. when I got back there, I was able to print pretty easily and for free (earns a star), but there were signs there saying that you could not plug in your laptop to charge it in that room. I did anyway while I printed and hoped no one would notice.

The whole vibe of this library was officious anti-patron like this. There were only two spots along the window where one could plug in a laptop and work, with chairs.

Also it sure did seem like there were a lot of staff not doing much. I'd say eliminate a position, but in a place like this, I'd be afraid that they'd fire a nice librarian and keep the bad ones. :-/

Hallie I.

I love my local public library!!! Drag Story Hour is the best!!!!

Haru L.

I have never experienced a library this noisy and hectic. When I came to New York, I used about 10 public libraries. But why is the Jackson Heights Public Library so noisy and disorderly? There aren't as many homeless people as there are at the Main Street Public Library in Queens, but it's simply like a cafe where locals chat, talk on the phone, and bring household chores to work. Even now, next to me, mail that has been piled up for an unknown amount of time is being opened, checked, and torn apart. Is this a problem for users? Is it a fundamental management or system problem?